Vegan fake tuna: even cats fall for it (+ recipe)
As a vegetarian or vegan, there’s plenty of choice when it comes to meat substitutes, but a substitute for fish isn’t as popular. Search carefully in large supermarkets and you might come across a stray vegan fish burger, and that’s about it. New on the market: vegan tuna, made from lupin, legumes and algae. Where can you buy it? And: do you even want it?
I can well imagine that, after a while, as a vegan or vegetarian, you start to miss fish. You don’t have to worry too much about meat substitutes: vegetarian chicken, lifelike vegan burgers and even a plant-based smoked sausage are practically everywhere. But vegetarian fish? Or, even more strongly: vegan? Rare.
Running cats
Tadaa, Good Catch. It comes in pouches that you can buy at the supermarket. And when you tear one open, you immediately think: tuna. Because it smells like tuna (so strongly that the cats come galloping over right away), it looks like tuna and yes, it even tastes like canned tuna. The ‘fish’ is made from peas, chickpeas, lentils, soybeans, fava beans and other legumes. And that fishy smell? It probably comes from the algae oil listed among the ingredients. Personally, I find the smell very strong. As if the makers thought: ‘it really has to smell like fish.’
Eliminations
What would I want to eat with tuna, or in this case: fake tuna? I immediately think of a tuna melt, with melted cheese. Aiii, cheese, that’s not vegan, so that’s out. And tuna salad? It contains mayonnaise, and plenty of it too, so that’s not going to work either. A salade niçoise? Boiled egg, unfortunately. If you’re having the same culinary brain freeze as I am: the Good Catch website has recipes for dumplings, bruschetta, risotto and an Asian soup.
Naked tuna
There are three varieties: one with olive oil and herbs, one with Mediterranean flavors (meaning: tomato) and one called ‘naked’, so without any extras. In a homemade tuna salad, it’s not at all obvious that the naked fake tuna is completely plant-based. With that delicious vegan mayonnaise from Jean Bâton, you can fool everyone, and capers, red onion and pickles are about as plant-based as it gets. Add a pinch of paprika, plenty of black pepper and pile it onto a thick slice of toasted bread: there you go, that’s how everyone learns to love vegan food. And if you’re not particularly strict about it, nobody’s stopping you from using regular mayo after all, or melting a slice of cheese on top… at least, I’m not.
Verdict: if you want to make tuna salad for vegans, this is a perfectly good alternative. But personally, nothing beats the real deal for me.
